Sasuke

"...and he landed somewhere in a pig farm." Naruto said finishing up bowl of ramen. He'd just gotten back from his short stay at the hospital and decided to snag me away from my training and share his latest Sakura sighting –two weeks ago.

"You where spying on her...when she was bathing...?" My eye started to twitch and my fists clenched.

"Just Pervy Saga," Naruto said leaning as far away from me as possible. "It was weird though, when Sakura punched Master Jiraiya...her eyes looked almost…silver."

Before I could say anything about how stupid that sounded I heard a voice. "Hey guys."

I turned in my chair to see Sakura standing in the streets behind us wearing a black dress and bamboo hat beaming her usual twenty-watt smile that could melt ice with its rays of warmth and sincerity. She looked so calm, so together –her trainer must have rubbed off on her- it was completely unlike her. Unless…

Suddenly I remember the letter I'd left her.

"Sakura," I slipped off my stool and got into a fight stance. "You're not going to..." My eyes darted to Naruto who was slightly cowering. Her smile turned devilish and before I could move she pounced and trapped me in a hug.

"Sasuke, you baka, you had me worried!"

I didn't move I was too shocked.

Has she been thinking about me?

She sounded like my mother.

I was about to say a smart comment back, but then she pulled away her lips brushed my cheek. At that moment my heart crashed into my chest and I knew she heard it. I looked at her wide eyed, but she only smiled and winked before turning to take her seat next to Naruto. "Can I have a today's special please?" How in the name of hell could she be so damn coy?

I retook my seat and watched her carefully.

"Sakura-chan how was the rest of your training?" Naruto asked. She smiled at him and suddenly I grew curious too.

"You'll have to wait until my fight; I have a few tricks up my sleeve and a lot of new weapon tricks to work with. What about you, Sasuke-kun?" Her head snapped towards me, promptly and he twenty-watt smile returned. "Leaving the hospital in your condition to train with Kakashi-sensei for a long month in the mountains." Her abnormally large smile let me know she was on the verge of revenge.

"Sa-" Was all I managed before she kicked the leg of my chair and set me back into the streets –in which I made a backwards summersault. Naruto erupted into fits of laughter and Sakura smirked at me from her stool.

Same old Sakura…hasn't changed a bit.

Sakura

"Gaara?" I whispered to the red haired boy who was staggering down the dark hallway, sand ominously hanging in the air as he held his head as if he had a headache. "Are you…?" My question was cut short by the murderous glint in his pale sea foam eyes and the slight curl of his lips.

Shukaku was acting up.

I just gone to the hospital to check on Hinata, but instead I feel bloodlust and immediately tense and call out the person watching me, only to find Gaara hiding in the shadows.

"Oh, Gaara." I began to feel worried for the patients in the hospital. Which one had he gone to? Then, stupidly, I remembered an important detail.

Lee.

The one who almost defeated him.

"If his eyes cloud with bloodlust stop him by any means necessary." Itachi's baritone voice echoed in my head and I gulped. Are they trying to get me killed?

Although Gaara and I were friends, the demon within him was anything but. Shukaku wanted to hurt the people close to Gaara, that's why he kept his brother and sister at a distance. I was the only one he kept close; he knew I could protect myself, my chakra levels were high thanks to Saku though there was no doubt in my mind that Gaara could kill me if he wanted.

I took a small step back, for distance purposes, and surveyed Gaara more intently. No blood.

Gaara made a noise that sounded close to a laugh. "Heh, you've enough sense now to keep your distance. Your training has improved, Sakura." My lips pressed together into a line and I planted my hands on my hips firmly –he was being cocky, that meant he didn't kill anyone.

I'd seen him after he killed for the first time when we were children; he'd gone through all the phases: adrenaline crash, realization, denial, acceptance…and then a sickening smile. But I'd also seen him resist Shukaku's bloody call he was in the adrenaline crash stage.

"Come with me."

~X~

"This is my favorite place to eat…though usually I'm alone so I'm sorry if there's not enough food. Tea?" I lifted a canteen to catch Gaara's attention as he stared off, checking out Konaha's landscape from the tall roof of the Hokage's Tower. "Amazing isn't it? Not as good as Sunagakure's, but a lot more colorful than Amegakure's." I pour the tea into two small cups and set one in front of Gaara on the railing.

"Amegakure…the Village Hidden in the Rain. You must be the only one here who's seen its landscape." I shrugged at Gaara's statement.

"During the last Great Ninja War a few Jonin traveled to Ame, but that wasn't the best time to see it. It sits on a mountain so you have to climb some and the rocks are slippery from the rain, and there are a few creatures someone would rather not run into on the way," I said, speaking from experience. "It's not the flashiest of villages, but…it's worth it. If you reach the main gate by noon you can see the cloud bank open up and the sun comes into view…it's really beautiful." Gaara watched me intently and then glanced back at his tea.

"You think a lot of you little village don't you?" He said in his usual whispery voice.

"Hai, I do. It has a lot of potential in coming back to its former glory before the war."

"…You are aware that Amegakure Genin entered the Chuunin Exams, correct?" I nodded and Gaara frowned deeper. "Did you know any of them that well?"

"No…but a few faces were familiar. I never went to proper schooling before I came here."

"I ran into a team in the forest." My eyes widened. The Forest of Death! "They wanted our scroll and they attacked, so I killed them. First their leader and then his subordinates –I used Sand Coffin and crushed them." Gaara's eyes flickered to me, expecting to see me already pulling a weapon on him, but instead he met a stoic face.

"From my homeland too…you're the only one of my friends who knows I'm from Amegakure." I growled and Gaara's eyes pinched. "We're running low on ninja away…" I sighed and hung my head.

"They were from your village; don't you want to avenge them?"

"Gaara…if I tried to fight you, I'd die. Simple as that. And that's probably what Shukaku wants. So I'm telling you this now: Amegakure holds very few pleasant memories to me and I'm not scared of you, and neither is Hinata." Gaara stared at me hard for a moment and then his eyes narrowed.

Ignored him and lifted my glass before taking a drink. "Do you want yours? It's a homemade remedy."

"You could just be another assassin here to build my friendship and take my life." He bluntly stated, then studied me again. Looking for any signs of a slip up or 'damn he found out'. When he found none he looked confused. Finally he picked up the tiny glass in his hand and sniffed it as I poured myself another glass. "You spiked it."

I laughed. "You make it sound like I'm slipping you some date-rape drugs." I pointed to the glass. "That is only tea."

"Liar."

"Well, if you don't want it." I grabbed it from him and took a sip, then swallowed. "Ah, refreshing."

This charade of 'Did Sakura Spike the Tea with Drugs?' lasted a few more minutes before Gaara actually took a drink.

"How is it?" I asked.

"…good…"

"Great, Hinata will be happy to hear that, it's her recipe and I know you like her Gaara." I smiled and at the sound of her name he looked away and I turned towards my binto box. The small vial of sedative I'd prepared stared back at me and I shamefully tucked it into my kunai pouch.

Just so ya'll know I got caught with my cell phone when I was checking for updates...I love livin' on the edge. Haha. I ran so fast my teacher coldn't give me my detention. I;m just countling my blessings now. So anyway, a little SasuSaku and some implied GaaHina. Pretty good? Just a filler chapter.

Anyway, XxAnimeLovRxX, heres the answer to a few of your questions: Yes, Sakura likes Sasuke -it shows with the little kiss thing she did. Naruto has a slight crush on Sakura. Sakura doesn't know about Madara yet. She will train under Tsunade.

As for everyone else, thank you for reviewing and ask me questions. I love questions.

Please reveiw,

~QueenVamp